Pressure-shoe attachment for plow colter



Nov. 28, 1961 J. G. PRIHODA 3,010,525-

PRESSURE-SHOE ATTACHMENT FOR PLOW COLTER Filed Nov. 17, 1958 //V VEN 7'01? United States Patent 3,010,525 PRESSURE-SHOE ATTAC'HNIENT FOR PLOW COLTER John G. Prihoda, Bath Township, Freeborn County, Minn. (Rte. 2, Ellendale, Minn.) Filed Nov. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 774,222 2 Claims. (Cl. 172-514) The present invention relates to a novel pressure-shoe attachment for use in combination with a plow colter to facilitate the cutting, by the colter wheel, of surface straw, vegetation or trash so that such materials will be turned under by the plow instead of becoming bunched up and causing said wheel to slide or to become fouled, clogged, or its operation otherwise impaired. "My invention is particularly directed to a pressure-shoe attachment which can be readily attached to virtually any conventional plow colter wheel assembly without the necessity of making any special preparation, such as drilling of holes, on the colter wheel assembly.

Various pressure-shoe attachments have been suggested from time to time for plow colter assemblies. A common type of pressure-shoe consists of an elongate member extending arcuately upwardly at its upper end, with said member being longitudinally slotted at its rearward end to define spaced rearwardly extending arms. The pressure-shoe is then positioned forwardly of the colter wheel with the wheel extending within the slot so that the said arms extend on either side thereof. The present invention is particularly directed to combinations involving novel means for detachably mounting pressure-shoes of such type in position on the plow colter assembly.

Pressure-shoe attachment devices heretofore known for plow colter assemblies have been either permanently attached to the colter wheel assembly, such as by welding, or, if detachable, have required some special preparation of said assembly before the pressure-shoe attachment could be positioned in place. Thus each pressure-shoe attachment device and each type or configuration of colter assembly had to be tailored at least in some respects for each other. At the very minimum, it has ben necessary to drill holes in the colter assembly in which to position bolts by which the pressure-shoe attachment can be positioned in place. It has also generally been felt necessary that, as taught by various prior art patents, the rear arm of the shoe extending on each side of the colter wheel be movably positioned by means of some spring mechanism. This has been accomplished either by interposing a spring mechanism for urging the shoe downwardly, or by fabricating the shoe of a spring-like material and then positioning the pressure-shoe on the colter assembly at its forward end with the shoe extending cantileverlyv In such case, the shoe itself serves as a yieldable spring mechanism.

An objective of the invention therefore is to provide a novel pressure-shoe attachment for plow colters which can be adjustably installed or positioned on colter assemblies very simply, and without the necessity of making any preparations whatsoever on the colter assembly. A further object of my invention is to provide a novel pressureshoe device for plow colters wherein the-need is obviated for positioning the shoe soits arms are yieldable in use. An understanding of my invention, and the advantages thereof, over heretofore known devices, will be apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to corresponding parts in the several views, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my device shown in position on aplow colter assembly; and

FIGURE 2 is a side view of my novel pressure-shoe attachment afiixed in position on a conventional plow; and

FIGURE 3 is a top view of a portion of the assemblage of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, a colter wheel or disc 10 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 11, said shaft being supported in the bifurcated members or arms 12 and 12a of a bifurcated yoke 13. The latter extends upwardly and forwardly of the wheel 10 and is afiixed to the lower free end of a generally vertically disposed supporting shank 14. Said shank, in turn, is mounted on the plow proper, designated generally as 15 in FIGURE 1. As is well known in the art, the shank 14 may have an S-bend centrally thereof so that the position of the colter wheel may be adjusted in the lateral direction by rotating the shank with respect to its mounting.

An elongate arcuately shaped pressure-shoe 20 is upturned at its forward end portion 21 and is slotted in the longitudinal direction from its rearward end to define spaced rearwardly extending arms 22 and 22a. Colter wheel 10 extends between said arms 22 and 22a when the pressure-shoe 20 is positioned on a plow. At its forward end pressure-shoe 20 is provided with a pair of rearwardly extending brackets 26 and 26a affixed thereto, such as by being welded on the back surface of said pressure-shoe. Carried by said brackets 26 and 26a are clamp means 27 comprising opposed clamp bars 28 and 28a, tension bar 30 and stop members 32 and 32a extending inwardly from the upper edge at the rearward end of said clamp bar 28 and 28a, respectively.

A pair of clamp bars 28 and 28a are fastened to brackets 26 and 26a, respectively, by means of forward bolts 34 and 34a, respectively, which extend therethrough. Additionally rear bolts 36 and 36a, respectively, extend through slots 38 and 38a in brackets 26 and 26a. Said slots 38 and 38a are slightly arcuate in shape so that when the nuts associated with the respective bolts are loosened, clamp bars 28 and 28a can be pivoted about bolts 34 and 34a, with bolts 36 and 36a traveling in slots 38 and 38a, respectively, within the limits permitted by said slots.

The inner or upper surface of pressure-shoe 20 at the forward portion 21 is generally smooth and unobstructed. As will be shown shortly, said surface serves as a bearing surface which performs a definite function in the attachment of my device to the colter assembly.

Extending upwardly from arms 22 and 22a, toward the rear thereof, are rear brackets or standards 40 and 40a. The lower ends of said standards are bent over to provide Said end portions have laterally extending slots 42 and 42a through which bolts 43 and 43a extend from arms 22 and 2211, the standards being thus afl'ixed to the arms. Preferably the heads of bolts 43 and 4311 are flush with the under surface of the arms. When the respective nuts of bolts 43 and 43a are loosened, standards 40 and 40:; are movable and adjustable in the lateral direction with respect to arms 22 and 22a. 1

Toward their upper ends, standards 40 and 40a are each provided with lengthwise extending spaced slots 48 and S0, and 48a and 5011, respectively. Elongate bolts '51 and 52 extend through slots 48 and 50, respectively, and elongate bolts 51a and 52a similarly extend through slots 48a and 50a. Supported on said bolts are inner bars 53 and 53a which are somewhat shorter than standards 40 and 404. Said bars-are provided with spaced lengthwise extending slots 54 and 56, and 54a and 56a, which coincide or mate with slots 48, 48a, 59 and 50a, respectively,

follows. From a position forward-of the colter assembly and with the entire clamp means loosened, the pressureshoe 20 is slid rearwardly into position with clamp'bars' 28 and 28a extending above and on either side of the bifurcated members-12 and 12a of yoke 13. The pressureshoe attachment assembly is then lowered so that the stop members 32 and 32a come to rest on the upper edges of the respective bifurcated members 12 and 12a of yoke 13. The tension bar 30 is then drawn up slightly by tightening up the nut on its threaded end. The arms 2 and 22a of pressure-shoe 20 are then raised whereby the pressureshoe pivots about bolt 34 and 34a, 36 and 36a, until the upper surface of the pressure-shoe at its forward portion 24 bears against the forward lower corner of shank 14 or yoke 13. I

At this point the position -of the pressure-shoe is inspected to determine if the arms are extending at the proper heightwith respect to the colter wheel 10. If said arms appear to be too high, tension bar 30 is loosened and the entire pressure-shoe assembly is pulled forwardly with the forward portion 21 traveling upwardly and with the clamp bars 28 and 28a and stop members 32 and 32a pivoting downwardly about bolts 34 and 34a and sliding rearwardly along yoke 13. The drawbar is again drawn up and the position checked by upraising arms 22 and 22a of pressure-shoe 20 so that the bearing surface of the shoe comes into contact with the shank or yoke. On the other hand, should the position of the arms 22 and 22a be too low upon the preliminary inspection, the entire assemblage slipped rearwardly along bifurcated members 12 and 125:.

When the desired position has been attained, the clamp means'is tightened by turning bolts 34, 34a, 36 and 36a and tension bar 30 up tight. Then the arms of the pressureshoe are fastened onto'the bifurcated members 12 and 12a of yoke 13. This is accomplished by removing bolts 51 and 51a from inner bar 53 and 53a and standards 40 and 40a, respectively (if this has not been done previously), so that said inner bars rotate about lower bolts 52 and 52a to a" downward out-of-the way position. Then, rear standards 40 and 40a are adjusted laterally so that the standards bear against the outer surfaces of the bifurcated members 12 and 12a. Bolts 43 and 43a are then tightened firmly to position standards 40 and 40a. Inner 'bars 53 and 53:: are rotated upwardly about bolts 52 and 52a so that slots 54 align with slot 48 or standard 40, and slot-54a similarly aligns with slot 48a. Bolts 51 and 51a are thenreinserted through their respective slots in standards 40 and 40a and inner bar 53 and 53a, and then all of bolts 51, 51a, 52 and 52a are drawn up by tightening the nuts on their threaded ends, the entire rear fastening assembly being thus rigidly clamped on the bifurcated members 1 2 and 12a.

Oncethe pressure-shoe attachment has been adjusted for any particular colter assembly, it is generallyunnecessary to readjust through bolts 34, 34a, 36 and 36a of the a clamp means or bolts 43 and 43a at the base of standards The arms 22 and 22a of the pressure-shoe 20 are firmly and rigidly positioned when the device is installed. It has generally been thought heretofore that in order to operate properly, such arms had to be yieldable or movable in use so that they would press against rubbish, etc. on the ground. I have. found this not to-be so. If a colter wheel utilizing my device momentarily is not cutting deep enough so that arms 22 and 22a ride into the ground, any trash rapidly builds up under the front portion of the shoe and thus provides its own pressure to force additional rubbish into the colter wheel. If it is found that the arms of the shoe are continuously riding too high, the device may quickly be adjusted so that the arms ride lower. In fact, I have found that in some instances it is disadvantageous to have free acting arms of the pressure-shoe.

Having now described my invention with the aid of a specific example, it is to be understood that the specificity of the description is for purposes of illustration and not limitation, it being my intention to be limited only by the specification taken as a whole including the appended claims.

What I claim is as follows:

1. A pressure-shoe attachment for a plow colter rotatively supported by a bifurcated yoke, said attachment comprising an elongate arcuate pressure-shoe longitudinally slotted at its rearward end to define spaced rearwardly extending arms, clamp means pivotally afiixed to the forward portion of said shoe for releasably gripping the bifurcated supporting yoke for a colter wheel, stop members on said clamp means, said stop members precluding slippage between said clamp and said yoke in one generally vertical direction when said clamp means are aflixed in clamped position, a bearing surface provided at the forward portion of said shoe adapted to bear against said yoke in the opposite vertical direction, and a rear'standard extending upwardly from each of said arms, and adapted to Ibe clamped one each to the bifurcated members of said yo e.

2. Apressure-shoe attachment for a plow colter rotativelysupported by a bifurcated yoke, said attachment comprising an elongate arcuate pressure-shoe longitudinally slotted at its rearward end to define spacedrearwardly extending arms, said pressure-shoe extending upwardly at its forward end and having an upper bearing surface along its forward end portion, a pair of clamp bars pivotally affixed to said pressure-shoe adjacent its forward end, said clamp bars being adapted to extend one each along opposed lateral exterior surfaces of said yoke, tension means for drawing said clamp bars inwardly against 40 and 40:1. My device thuscan be installed and detached in a matter of just a very few moments, simply by removing bolts 51 and 51a and by loosening tension bar '30. The device is then simply slid forwardly and away from the colter assembly. It is easily reattached by reversing the procedure. v

It will 'be seen that my pressure-shoe attachment is V afiixed to the plow colter assembly by a series .of clamping operations. No alteration or preparation of the colter assembly is necessary. No holes for bolts in the colter assembly need be drilled. No welding need be performed orany other attaching operation. On the other hand, my

device is readily adaptable to adjust toany conventional plow colter. Insofar as I am aware, no one heretofore has provided an attachment for a plow colter assembly having the various advantages inhering in my device,

said yoke, a stop member afiixedto each clamp bar, said stop members being adapted to engage the upper surfaces of said'yoke when said clamp bars are clamped in position and toprevent said clamp bars from slipping downwardly on said yoke, and a rear standard extending upwardly from each of said arms, said rear standards being adjustable on their respective .arms in the lateral direction and adapted to be clamped one each to the bifurcated members of said yoke.

' References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 787,016 Wimer A r. 11, 1905 1,445,705 Nuernberger Feb. 20,1923 1,791,258 Allen Feb. 3, 1931 7 2,161,714 Lindelof June 6, 1939 

